MICHAEL CHANDLER has sensationally claimed his showdown with Conor McGregor is OFF.
The former three-time Bellator lightweight champion was due to welcome the UFC’s poster boy back to the octagon in June.
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Injury to the Notorious, however, scuppered the joust – which was first announced last February – and seemingly pushed it back to the end of the year.
But Chandler has hinted their long-overdue showdown is now a thing of the past during an explosive X row with the Irishman.
He said: “Never mind guys…I think it’s time I finally admit the fight is off.
“He’s still in stage 2 of the 7 of grief pertaining to his career being over.
“Figured he’d be closer to 5 by now. Godspeed @TheNotoriousMMA.”
McGregor, 36, didn’t waste any time responding to Chandler’s claim, insisting he’d happily replace him with former rival Max Holloway.
He said: “Lol, ok, lil bro, Swapped out handy. @BlessedMMA what you at December?
“The real BMF, you know.”
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Inside McGregor’s Notorious lifestyle
With more sides to his personality than an Octagon, Conor McGregor’s rise has been an enthralling watch.
Former two-division champion McGregor hasn’t set foot inside the octagon since breaking his left leg in his trilogy fight with Dustin Poirier three years ago.
The Irishman‘s comeback clash was Chandler was scuppered by a broken left pinky toe, which he suffered in one of his final training sessions.
It’s understood the UFC brass have earmarked their final pay-per-view of the year – UFC 310 – for the rescheduled Return of the Mac.
And in an exclusive interview with SunSport, McGregor revealed that he likes the sound of closing out the promotion’s PPV calendar.
The UFC’s first simultaneous two-weight world champion told SunSport: “That sounds good to me.
“That sounds good to me brother.”
